"I’m here - I’m alive"

By David Smithdsmith@siskiyoudaily.com
Posted Oct. 24, 2013 at 9:27 AM

YREKA

“I say I’m a survivor because I’m here,” Debbie Young said Wednesday afternoon, reflecting on her very recent battle with an aggressive form of breast cancer.

Having just finished her months of chemotherapy and radiation, Young was having a good enough day to speak about her experience, which now involves getting back to work and reviving the strength sapped by the fight that raged inside her body.

“It’s a roller coaster ride,” Young said, explaining that between days of severe emotional reaction and sickness that remain, there is a lingering numbness in the extremities, shortness of breath and muscle fatigue – all associated with the chemical therapy agents that can remain in the body months after treatment.

Young’s story started last year with a routine mammogram that revealed a number of spots, which spread quickly to her nodes and began to form a tumor in a matter of months after detection. Her cancer moved so quickly that it went from stages three to four before she had a lumpectomy in January, removing cancerous cells to pave the way for her rigorous treatments.

Through it all, Young said, her husband Bob went to nearly every test, treatment and doctor visit, forming a base of support that spread to her family, friends and even members of the community who offered support simply after hearing about Young’s predicament.

“It’s not something you want to do alone,” Young said, noting that she also had the support of survivors in the community, who helped her understand what to expect and discover strategies for dealing with the emotional, physical and financial strains.

With 5,730 miles driven to various doctors and programs, days filled with extreme sickness and crying, Young also described an issue that she found difficult to deal with – the loss of her hair. “You’ve got to look in the mirror and realize you’re the same inside,” she said, noting that her natural hair is slowly getting back to its old length.

“If you find yourself in this situation, find someone who can mentor you,” Young said, offering advice to those who receive a cancer diagnosis. She also urged women to get mammograms annually, and suggested that men do self exams, as breast cancer is not limited to one sex.

Young also said that she has been told that she has a 12 percent chance of getting cancer again, and that she should wait five years before considering herself “cancer-free,” but she is already employing a positive attitude to get back on her feet. “I try to laugh a lot,” she said, looking instead at her 88 percent chance of not getting cancer again.